The present invention relates to a bowl cutter with replaceable, adjustable blades that are configured to remove excess material from the valve bowl of an engine cylinder head.
Internal combustion engines commonly include a cylinder head with intake valves that are selectively actuated to permit in-flow of air/fuel around the valves and through the valve bowls and intake ports. In a similar manner, exhaust valves also selectively allow exhaust gases to escape through exhaust ports. When a cracked cylinder head is repaired by welding, weld material often has to be removed to reform the valve bowl area and port areas for smooth gas flow. In addition, it is sometimes desirable to remove excess material from the valve bowl area to improve airflow around the intake or exhaust valves, particularly for high performance or racing applications. Historically, bowl cutters (also known as "bowl hogs" or "bowl hawgs") have non-adjustable, integrally formed cutting edges so that the machinist or repairman simply chooses the correct cutter for a particular job. The bowl cutters are each configured to cut specifically shaped bowls tailored for optimal performance in particular cylinder heads. However, there exists an increasing number of engine cylinder head designs such that it is difficult and expensive to keep all types and sizes of bowl cutters in stock. Variations in the valve size and the shape of the valve bowl complicate this problem. In addition, the cutter blades in known bowl cutting tools are not replaceable, requiring costly replacement of the entire bowl cutter when they are worn out. Accordingly, a cutting tool is desired, solving the aforementioned problems.